So far the Baltic States were skeptical toward the EU’s possibilities to ensure collective security. By requiring to enhance Europe‘s solidarity in the sphere of foreign, security and defense policy, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia did not consider the EU security and defense policy a reliable instrument; moreover, complicated relations with eastern neighbors made the above countries count on NATO. At the end of this year the Lisbon Treaty was ratified. Let’s have a closer look at this issue.

The stage of discussions among the experts preparing proposals for the NATO strategic concept has come to an end; the stage of consultations in the capitals of the Alliance states has commenced. Afterward they will have to identify the most relevant future threats, NATO‘s tasks in combating these threats and the ways for increasing the Alliance’s effectiveness etc.

It seems that Washington does not want to lose good relations with Poland, which got worse when the decision was made not to deploy the U.S.antimissile defense shield system in its territory. According to Poles, it was the fault of B.Obama, who pressed the „reset“ button in the relationship with Russia. This also implied a refusal to deploy elements of the antimissile defense shield (radar and 10 anti-ballistic missiles) in the Czech Republic and Poland.

Although less than two months have passed after B.Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, today the U.S. President is referred to as an escalator of the military conflict in Afghanistan. On 1 December, during his speech in the West PointMilitaryAcademy, he announced his strategy in Afghanistan. The United States committed to send another 35 thousand troops to the country.

A possible military deal between Russia and France has recently been in the focus of media. Pursuant to this deal, Russia would acquire several Mistral class landing ships. According to a well-known French philosopher A.Glucksmann, selling Mistral to Russia is an awful idea.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė urged NATO several times to elaborate the defense plan for the Baltic States. However, according to Secretary General of NATO A.F. Rasmussen, who has recently paid a visit to Lithuania, even if there is no specific defense plan, the Baltic States shall be protected pursuant to the collective defense principles, specified in the Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. Do we really need an individual defense plan and will it increase our security?

At the end of 2008 Russia expressed the concern that Lithuania hindered transportation of nearly 900 tanks from Kaliningrad Region, i.e. the tanks which have stuck there from the times when the 11th USSR army was removed from the former GDR to this region. Where and why these tanks were removed?

Today the military conflict which started one year ago seems as an undoubted Russia‘s victory: Russia managed to establish two pro-Moscow formations - South Ossetia and Abkhazia – within the territory of sovereign Georgia.

A terrorist organization al-Qaeda first of all is related to the day when suicide attackers hijacked and crashed commercial jets of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon building. There are different opinions about this organization; among them the opinion of J.Hrevnack in the article “Al-Qaeda does not exist and never has“.

After the events in Georgia Lithuania started discussing what could happen if Russia suddenly decided to occupy the Baltic States. In the interview to Sueddeutsche Zeitung, President of Lithuania V.Adamkus said that „in case if the Russian madmen decide to invade our country, they could occupy it in a few minutes“. At the same time he expressed hope that the world would resist such Russia‘s actions.

The Gulf of Aden has currently become one of the most dangerous places for the global navigation: more than 60 ships have been attacked by Somali pirates this year.  According to Chatham House of the British Royal Institute of International Affairs, pirates have received nearly USD 30 million ransoms from the beginning of the year.

By 1 December the Russian military shall leave the Baikonur cosmodrom in Kazakhstan. They should have left it until 2007; however the withdrawal was suspended because of the shortage of living-space in the homeland and other social problems. Today these problems seem to have been solved.

Currently there is lot of talking about the militarization of the authoritarian Russia‘s regime. Or maybe Russia is only trying to re-establish the lost military potential? Although in the West this is assumed as a danger, there is no need to be afraid of everything. It would be better to start a more objective analysis of the situation.

While evaluating the conflict in South Ossetia, everything depends on the position pursued regarding the international policy events. If it is considered that Kosovo, as well as the South Ossetia and Abkhazia (including Chechnya) are worth the independence. The talks about their differences are nothing but an elementary demagogy.

Strasbourg, 8 July 2008.  Tension has reached a critical point in the breakaway regions of Georgia as a result of the series of blasts and crossfire attacks, which led to the death of at least six people and wounded many others in Abkhazia and South Ossetia during the last week.

We deplore this new wave of violence in Georgia, which makes more victims among civilians on both sides of the ceasefire line. This line in western Georgia should not be turned into the unlawful de facto border, facilitating to cease and annex Abkhazia by neighbouring Russia.

For effective complex defence of Latvia, the establishment of a permanent division of the National Armed Forces has started in Latgale, reported the official website of the Ministry of Defence.

On 13 January a concert "Together to the victory" was held in Lithuania, where the audience decided to support Ukraine's defence and donated 110 thousand Euros.

Alexander Lukashenko on 9 January signed a decree № 8 "On the establishment of visa-free entry and exit of foreign nationals." The document establishes visa-free entry to Belarus for a period not exceeding 5 days at the entrance through the checkpoint "National Airport Minsk" for citizens of 80 countries, - reported the press service of the President of Belarus.